Hawai’i’s new pesticide bill passed last week made our state the first in the nation to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. State legislators managed to pass this historic legislation in the face of intense pressure from the agrochemical industry, which has relied on corrupted science and media misinformation to unduly influence representatives and agencies in

In a victory for people power, Hawai’i is about to become the first state in the nation to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. The ban is part of a historic new pesticide regulation bill that had already passed the House, and on Friday, April 27, passed the Senate Conference Committee. The bill, after enormous opposition from

Despite being a priority of the Hawaii Democratic Party and receiving unanimous support in the House of Representatives, SB3095HD1 remains stalled for unknown reasons in the Hawaii Senate. Supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Hawaii Nurses Association, the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), numerous other organizations and thousands of residents across the state,

For too long certain politicians in Hawaii have stonewalled pesticide regulation typically arguing they have to protect the economic interests of small farmers across the state. It’s a myth, which has been exploded by new research by Autumn Ness, who is on the Hawai’i Center for Food Safety’s Advisory Board. “The small farmer argument is

Maui’s Senator Roz Baker was instrumental in deleting important mandatory pesticide disclosure and notification sections from the SB 3095 bill. The original bill was opposed by Monsanto, Alexander & Baldwin Co., and the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association. “It was Roz Baker who gutted the bill,” reports Autumn Ness, who is on the Hawai’i Center for

The fight against the harmful use of pesticides in Hawai’i has been a slow and strenuous battle. From birth defects reported on Kaua’i to the federal court overruling the SHAKA Movement-lead GMO moratorium, the battle against pesticides has been met with little, or at least not sufficient, legislative action. But, as of this

The agro-chemical giant Monsanto has painted itself as a kindly company bringing needed jobs to Maui and Molokai. They neglect to mention in their PR that they are drenching Maui’s farm land with dangerous cocktails of toxic pesticides. In their official 2015 report prepared for the County of Maui, under the heading Restricted Use Pesticides

The 2017 Hawaii State Legislature deserves an “F” for failing to regulate in any way whatsoever Hawaii’s largest users of Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP). Most egregiously they failed to step up and ban chlorpyrifos, a known neurotoxin used widely to kill insects on the genetically engineered cornfields located on Molokai, Kauai, Maui, and the north

Against the advice of the Environmental Protection Agency’s own scientists, President Trump’s newly appointed EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, has refused to ban the dangerous pesticide chlorpyrifos. “We are returning to using sound science in decision-making, rather than predetermined results,” said Pruitt. Monsanto reportedly sprays around 140 acres of land on Maui and Molokai with the

Hopes ran high for a proposed bill that would have helped inform and empower Hawaii’s residents about the impact of toxic restricted-use pesticides. But House Bill 790 sank after pushback from the powerful biotech industry and resistance from the old guard. “The lawmakers who opposed this measure should be ashamed,” says Ashley Lukens, director of the Hawaii Center for